The use of computer systems and computer-related technologies continues to increase at a rapid pace. This increased use of computer systems has influenced the advances made to computer-related technologies. Indeed, computer systems have increasingly become an integral part of the business world and the activities of individual consumers. Computer systems may be used to carry out several business, industry, and academic endeavors. The wide-spread use of computers has been accelerated by the increased use of computer networks, including the Internet. Many businesses use one or more computer networks to communicate and share data between the various computers connected to the networks. The productivity and efficiency of employees often requires human and computer interaction.
Computer technologies used by consumers and by the business world continue to demand that the efficiency of these technologies increase. These demands have included demands to improve security software to detect harmful applications that may execute on a computer to erase, steal, or otherwise harm sensitive data stored on a computer. Harmful applications may also use the resources of an infected computer to send spam, participate in attacks against other devices, etc. Demands to increase the efficiency of computer technologies have also included demands to improve efficiencies in developing and testing applications that may be sold to computer users.
The efficiency of malicious applications has also increased. Many modern malicious programs and Internet sites use interactions with a user to complicate (or make impossible) the ability of security software to automatically analyze these applications and sites. As a result, security software is unable to detect whether or not an unknown application or Internet site intends to perform harmful activity to a computer. The security software does not detect harmful activity until after a user has interacted with these types of applications.
In addition, developers of applications may desire to test the usability of a particular application that is being designed. For example, developers may desire to know whether or not user interfaces are intuitive and simple for a user to interact with.
As shown from the above discussion, there is a need for systems and methods to emulate the behavior of a user in a controlled, computer-human interaction environment.